Muscle Milk Team Makes it to Semis in Norwalk

Norwalk Ohio - Madison Payne, driver of the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster went all the way to the semifinals at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Madison qualified third with an exceptional 5.206 at 276 MPH. In fact, the top three qualifiers all hit the 5.20 mark!

In round one, Madison took on former National Champion Alan Bradshaw. At the starting line, Bradshaw left too soon giving Madison an automatic win. Madison ran a 5.28 at 270 MPH to advance into the second round.

In round two, Madison raced Canadian stand-out Shawn Cowie driving a blown alcohol combination. At the line, Madison left first with a .075 reaction time to Cowie's .097. It was a close battle to the finish line with Madison taking the win with a 5.27 at 279 MPH to Cowie's 5.28 at 276 MPH. "Shawn is my friend but he always finds a way to beat me. This time we came out on the winning side and it feels good to finally get around him" Madison said.

In the semis, Madison raced Cody Krohn. At the hit, it was Krohn out first with a .048 to Madison's .091 giving Krohn a sizable advantage. At the finish line, it was Krohn with the holeshot win as he rang up a 5.24 at 271 MPH to Madison's quicker 5.21 at 279 MPH. In spite of the late-round loss, team owner Duane Shields was happy with the team's overall performance but was looking for more. "The car made solid runs all weekend and we made it to the semifinals but we would have liked to have gone further. It's now back to the west coast where we will regroup and hopefully get some wins" Duane said. Madson added "Duane and Dana (Hopewell) are getting a little more aggressive with the tune-up and it's helping".

Next, the team heads to the Northwest for a regional Lucas Oil event at Woodburn Dragstrip July 7-9 where Duane has had past success. Duane and Madison would like to thank Muscle Milk, Brad Anderson Enterprises, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods, and Clean Boost for all of their support in 2023.